Improvement in shoes



' -In the accompanying plate of drawings our showing folding flap unfastened and: lInodeof l UNITED STATES- IlirIrNfIf`A OFFICE.I

DAVID BROWN ANDWM. s; wOO'roN', or KOKOIiIm-INDIANAQ l' IMPROVEMENT IN SHOES. gr

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 219,076, dated :August 1, 1 865.

To all whom it 'may concern: l Y

Be it known that we, DAVID BROWN and W. S. WOOTON, of Kokomo, in the county of Howard, State ot' Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Boots or Shoes; and we .do hereby-declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use y the same, reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, forming part of this specificatien.

The present invention consists in attaching to the back portion o f a boot or shoe in which a vertical slit or opening has been made a foldl ing, or in any other suitable way, at one edge to one side of opening or slit in the boot or shoe and at the other to the inner surface of the folding flap, and which wings, when the folding ap has been but'toned, as described, lie and are held between it and the exterior surface of the boot o r shoe upper.

By forming the back portion of the boot or shoe with a folding iap or piece arranged and attached'thereto, as described, the following among many advantages are secured, vizz First, it can be more easily and readily put on and takenoff of-the foot, as the ap, when un# buttoned,necessarily enlarges the usual opening for inserting the foot. There areno eyeletholes or any kind of apertures communicating with the interior ofthe shoe, as has heretofore been the case, thus making a perfect water-proof boot or shoe, s o far as the leather or other ma- I terial of which the shoe is made is capable of resisting the penetration of moisture; and also the peculiar construction and arrangement of the flap' actsas a support to and preventnthe breaking down ofl the counter of 4the boot. or shoe.

improvement is illustrated:

securing it to-the boot or shoe a a represent the sole of a boot; blc, the up# perleather,attached to sole a by sewing or in anyother proper manner; d, an'opening at top of bootfor inserting the foot; j', a vertical slit or openin g made inv back portion of upper-leather c, and extending from top edge, g, of same nearly to the top of counter h; l l, twowings or pieces,-

made of leather or other suitable material, and having a triangular shape, each attached, by

sewing orother proper means, by one of their edges t6 each edgem ofthe slit f in boot, and by another edge, also by sewing, to the inner sur# face, n, of a folding flap, o, having the shape represented inl the'drawings, and of sufficient length to extend around the instep of thefoot and have its two ends, p and r, meet and button, as represented in Fig. 1, -the lower end, s,

of whichU iiap is fastened by sewing o'r inany other-proper manner to the upper-leather c, at or near the top of counter h.

The boor, with its-back folding sapatraehed to the same, as above described, when placed upon the foot, is fastened thereto and securely held thereon by simply folding or vpassing the uap around the instep or leg over the upper, 'bringing its two endstogether in front of the foot, which are then buttoned, buckled, or

braced together in any of the ordinary modes,

the wingsor connecting-pieces l l then lying on and held betweenthe exterior surface of upper c andv innerv surface of ap, as is evident without. further description.

From the above description it is evident that not onlyisa secure, tight,y and reliable fastening provided for the securing of the-boot or shoe to the foot without thenecessity of an eyelet-A hole or any manner of an aperture in its upper! leather,but thatthe boot or shoecan be readily -put on and taken oif of the foot at pleasure.

We do not claim a folded gore applied to the lappet of a shoe, being aware that Samuel Babbit obtained a .patent on the 18th of February,

`1865, for a shoe in'which the said device is employed. Our invention is superior to Babbits in several respects: First, the increased thick shoe, where itis useful in preventing any runv A lning-down ofthe heel, whereas if placed at the Figure .1 is a side view of a boot; with our improvementappliem and represented as fastened about the foot; Fig. 2, a' perspective view,

sideit causes an unequal strength and stiffness, which is exceedin gly liable to result in the runness of leatheris'applied kat the back of the ning over ofthe shoe.v Second,the fastening of, our shoe, being'in front, vis not liable to become Boiledin muddyvweathed-as is commonwithf.A

sido fastenngs, and. cannon-by being drawn the outer edges of the gores Z Z, passing com tightly, produce any contraction or distortion pletely around theboot-top and fitst'eningabo've on one side of the shoe. Third, our shoe is the instep in front, all as herein represented adapted' to be much more easily put on and oi. 4and described.

What We claim as an improvement, and t o T sire to secure by Letters Patent, is ARgUTQ The combination of the siitf at the back of the boot, the double wings orgoresl l, attached Witnesses at the respective sides of the said siit, and the Ji. E. HOUSE, i

.ajp @attached at the top ofthe counter and WM. RUSSELL. 

